Designer and filmmaker Freda Lum dreamed up Moii Café as a response to a lack of public workspaces – and employment – for students in the arts. The gallery café’s business model is as experimental as the art that hangs on its walls. And Freda doesn’t position herself as the café manager; she’s removed a hierarchal structure completely.
“Everyone can be a leader,” she says. The majority of business decisions are arrived at democratically; as a result, Moii Café’s doesn’t see much staff turnover – employees are personally engaged in the café’s growth and are trusted to take the reins whenever needed. “I think if you trust your staff, they will respect you – and your business – back,” says Freda.
